Scapes

On a trip to a local farmers market a few years ago, my husband Jason saw something interesting sitting on a table.  There was a local garlic farmer who specialized in all kinds of garlic infused delicacies - garlic jam, garlic oil, pesto and such. She was selling zip lock bags of curly green scallion-like items called "scapes" and they were sitting next to a bowl of pesto that she'd made with them. The pesto was strong, yet not as assertive as most pesto I've tasted. It had more of an herbaceous quality, a grassy flavor that I really liked. We bought a bag of scapes and the garlic lady gave us the recipe for the pesto. My mind was filling with questions and ideas for what to do with those funky little garlic flavored curly-cues.

Garlic scapes, also known as garlic spears, stems or tops, are the shoots that grow out of underground developing garlic bulbs. They shoot up from the young leaves of the plant and curl into lovely tendrils with what looks like flower bulbs on the ends, very much like chives. The flower bulb is actually a seed pod that will eventually produce little seeds that can be planted to grow more garlic. If the scape is left on the plant, the underground garlic bulb will not plump up properly as all the energy of the plant will go into growing the scape. For the farmer, cutting the scape off not only allows the garlic bulb to grow correctly, but yields another delicious food product. It's a win-win for everyone.

When we got home, I cut a piece off one of the scapes and tasted it. It was a little woody and difficult to chew, but the flavor was amazing. It was most certainly garlic, but that nostril-burning garlic smell was replaced by a vegetal aroma. If you crushed a bunch of garlic, put it in a bucket of water and watered your lawn with it, the mowed grass might smell something like this garlic scape.

I wasn't sure what to do with this thing. I tried using it in a marinade for chicken breasts with some lemon and herbs, but the flavor didn't show up at all. I cut some into a brine for smoked fish, but once again the garlic flavor never emerged. I figured the best way to enjoy the garlic scape was in its most raw state. So I a pulverized a couple of scapes and used it in place of garlic in a batch of tzatziki sauce, which is the greek yogurt and cucumber sauce most commonly served on a gyro sandwich. EUREKA! The garlic flavor was powerful yet gentle and the crunchy little bits of green scape delivered a surprising punch. I'd hit the jackpot. I chopped another scape into a batch of tabouli salad and the the grassy garlic flavor was a perfect compliment. The parsley, cucumber and lemon in the salad played supporting roles to this culinary rising star. It is always a thrill to discover some interesting food item you've never used before. But the real thrill is helping it find it's true voice in your kitchen.